I'll Always Be Here
by Lunarangel's Dark Flame
Summary: Ruka always hoped Rua needed her as much as she did him. What would she do if that wasn't true?


Rua and Ruka are totally precious. They're my second favorite twin pairing in all of anime. No twins trump the greatness and sexiness that is Yoh and Haou. Oh, well, disclaimer!

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Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's. If I did…well, Jack and Carly would be together already. Jack, stop your time wasting and tell her you love her…again!

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She looked up at the bright blue sky. It was such a nice day.

"If only Rua were here to enjoy it too."

Ruka pouted as she continued her walk back home. She hated it when she was separated from her brother. She just felt…lost without him.

Something still haunted the back of Ruka's mind. "I wonder what was so important that he didn't want to walk with me."

"This one! This one, Rua-kun!"

Ruka stopped walking. That was Patty's voice. But there's no way that…

"I don't know, Patty."

She rushed over to the corner and peeked past it. Ruka's jaw dropped at what she saw. It was Patty and right beside her was Rua.

Patty pulled on Rua's arm. "I'm telling you. This is the one."

"I don't like it, Patty. It's really—" Patty cut him off.

"I thought you brought me here so you could find out what I like."

Rua looked in the window then shook his head.

"It's not the one. That's not it," Rua insisted. Patty was ready to argue with him but he pulled his arm away and walked off. "Come on. We've got more stores to look at."

Patty huffed then chased after him. "You better buy me something nice after all this!" she screamed.

When they were out of sight, Ruka came from around the corner. The look on her face could only be described by one word: devastation. She looked down at her hand and saw it shaking uncontrollably. She dropped her bag then grabbed her hand, silently begging it to stop. Soon, her legs felt the same feeling her hand did and she fell to her knees.

Ruka hugged herself as her entire body shook. She couldn't understand it. Rua had left her…for Patty? Why? Rua said that Ruka couldn't come. What was so important that Rua wouldn't invite her but he'd invite Patty? Didn't they do everything together?

"Little girl, are you okay?"

Ruka looked up and saw a man in a sector bureau uniform, looking down at her with concern. She put on a big smile and nodded.

"Just fine." That was one of the greatest lies she had ever told but she really hated it when people worried about her. "My legs just got weak for some reason."

"Here." The officer held out his hand.

Ruka took it and was pulled up to her feet. She bowed graciously before walking off. She stopped to take a look in the window that Rua and Patty had been looking at moments before. What caught her attention was a ring with a big ruby in the middle. It was pretty but not something she would have liked. She then began her lonely walk back home.

-

Rua still wasn't home. Ruka checked the time every two minutes, praying that Rua would burst in laughing like he usually did. She checked once more before she fell on the couch.

Was he really having such a wonderful time without her? Did he like Patty that much more? Her eyes widened when she remembered a moment from her past.

_Ruka woke up late at night. She was about seven years old so she didn't know that drinking five cups of soda before bed was a bad idea. She looked over and giggled. Rua was so funny. He even made sleeping hilarious. Ruka remembered her full bladder._

_She hopped out of bed and headed to the bathroom. As she did, she passed by her parents' room and stopped when she heard something she thought she'd never hear._

"_They need to be separated."_

_Ruka stood there in shock. What did mom mean? She didn't mean Rua and her, right? Why would they need to be separated?_

"_You're right. They spend far too much time together. They need to realize that they may be twins but they don't need each other."_

"_That's not true. I need Rua," Ruka whispered._

"_They won't always be together. When Ruka gets better, she'll need to be kept away from her brother and learn to stand alone. We should think about it more when we get back from our trip."_

_Ruka gulped and continued to stand there before the soda pushed at her bladder again. She rushed to the bathroom before she had an accident. When she finished, she walked back to her room and climbed into bed._

"_Ruka?" Ruka gasped when a hand found her shoulder. She looked over and saw Rua with sleep deprived eyes. "What's wrong? Have a bad dream?"_

_Ruka's lip quivered. "The worst."_

_All sleepiness disappeared from Rua's eyes and was replaced by worry and concern. He smiled then hugged his sister._

"_Don't worry, Ruka. Whatever happens, you know I'll always be here."_

_Ruka sobbed before the tears began to fall. She hugged her brother tightly and cried into his shoulder._

Ruka just lied there; her eyes still wide. They were right. Rua was gone and she didn't know what to do with herself now. She hugged the pillow beside her tightly, praying for Rua to come home soon. She waited and waited and fell asleep.

-

Rua walked into the living room in a huff. He didn't find a single thing. He noticed Ruka lying on the couch. He ran up to her and started shaking her.

"Ruka, wake up."

She mumbled and stayed asleep. Rua pouted before he used all of the power in his eleven-year old body to pick up Ruka and carry her to the bedroom. When he reached the bedroom, he gently placed her on the bed then fell down.

"Have you always been so heavy?"

"Rua…" Rua blinked before he scooted over to his sister. "…Don't…away…miss…please…"

Rua had no idea what she was trying to say but whatever it was, it involved him. He smiled then put the covers over Ruka.

"Don't worry, Ruka. I'm here. I'll always be here."

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The next day…

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"Rua?" Rua turned to Ruka, who was circling the ground with her foot. "Are…you going to be busy again today?"

Rua laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I've got to go do this thing with this guy, you know?"

"…You mean Patty?"

"What?"

"I saw you yesterday," Ruka whispered.

Rua's face fell as he waved his arms around rapidly.

"It's not what you think, Ruka! It's just…we were—" Ruka cut him off.

"I know what it was and it's cool."

"It's…cool?" Rua asked, confused.

"Yeah. It's cool that you're dating her."

"Dating?!" Rua screamed. He began to laugh but soon stopped. He coughed and nodded. "You're too smart for me, Ruka. Yep, I'm dating Patty."

Ruka's stomach churned. It was even worse to hear it from his mouth.

"So, I'm going to busy for a while, okay? Later!"

"Wait!"

But Rua had already run off. Ruka watched his retreating back then went her own way.

"So, what if Rua has Patty? I have the duel spirits. I'll just go back to the Duel Spirit World and I won't ever have to worry about him again," Ruka decided.

"_**You know you don't want that, Ruka."**_

Ruka stopped. "Ancient Fairy Dragon."

"_**You truly love Rua and he does you."**_

"…_We may be twins but we won't always be together."_

"_**Ruka, talk to Rua. Tell him how you feel."**_

"_He won't listen! Rua doesn't need me anymore!"_

Ruka began to cry before she ran home, refusing to listen to Ancient Fairy Dragon's calls.

-

Yuusei was nice and cool. He was also really strong. That's why Ruka looked up to him.

Even though Jack was mean and self-centered, he came through when they had to battle the Dark Signers. He was a good person.

Aki had truly changed. She smiled and cared for others. She even helped Ruka out with her class work.

Carly was funny, especially when she tripped on nothing. She played with Ruka and even babysat.

The Duel Spirits were always there. As long as she had her deck, she was never alone, especially now that Ancient Fairy Dragon was back. They were wonderful.

…But none of them were Rua.

That's why, even though she knew she had others to turn to, Ruka was curled up in her bed, doing her best to keep the tears from falling. She didn't want to be like this. She wanted to be strong, prove that she could stand on her own two feet without her brother's help but she couldn't.

"_**Ruka, please answer me."**_

Ruka didn't want to worry Ancient Fairy Dragon but she didn't want to talk to her either. What was there to say?

"…I don't need him."

"_**Ruka…"**_

Ruka cut her off. "I don't need Rua. I can just live in the Spirit World again. Mom and dad won't miss me and neither will Rua. And you can tell me when there's another battle for the Signers. See?"

"_**Ruka, you belong in your world."**_

"Why?"

"_**Ruka, you need to understand how important you are to this world. You must continue to go to school, have fun, and stay with your brother."**_

"Ancient Fairy Dragon, I told you. I don't need him."

"_**You know you don't mean that."**_

Ruka wanted to argue with her but she knew that trying to deny her feelings with Ancient Fairy Dragon never worked.

"You're right. I do need him but he doesn't need me."

Before Ancient Fairy Dragon could respond, the two heard a door open from outside the room.

"Ruka! Ruka, where are you?!"

Ruka sprung up in the bed. Rua was home. She couldn't let him see her crying.

Rua opened the door to their room widely, a large smile adorned on his face. "Ruka, where are you?!"

Rua looked around the dark room but didn't see his twin sister anywhere.

"Did she go back to the Spirit World?"

"…mmm…"

Quieting down, Rua began to listen carefully. There was some weird noise. When he heard it again, he slowly headed to the source of the sound. He walked up to the closet. Rua blinked before he opened it up. He couldn't believe what he saw.

Ruka was looking up at him, her strange golden-grey eyes filled with tears.

"Ruka, what's wrong?" Rua grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "Why are you crying in the closet? What's going on?"

Ruka held her head down, refusing to look up at her brother. Rua grabbed her shoulders. "Ruka, talk to me."

"…away…"

"What was that?"

Ruka glared at him before she pushed him away from her. "Go away! I don't need you!"

Rua's mind repeated those six simple words in his mind. "…What?"

Ruka shook her head violently as she screamed at her brother. "I don't need you! You're lazy and stupid and you snore and…and…and…"

"What…what did I do?"

Ruka stopped screaming when she heard her brother's voice. There was something wrong. Why did he sound so sad? She finally looked at him and something in her broke. Why was Rua…crying?

Rua was shaking visibly as tears just kept falling. "Why are you so mad at me?" He didn't understand it. Ruka never got this angry before. What did he do wrong? "Ruka…what did I do?"

"…" Ruka didn't know what to say.

Rua brought his hands to his face. He wanted them to stop. He didn't want to look like a baby in front of Ruka. "Stupid tears. Why won't they stop?!"

Ruka just stared at him.

"_**Ruka, say something."**_

"…You don't need me," was all that came out.

Rua lowered his hands and looked at her in confusion. "What are you talking about? You're my sister. Of course I need you."

Ruka shook her head. "You're dating Patty so you don't need me anymore. I just wanted you to think that I didn't need you too. Truth is…" Ruka began to cry again. "…I don't have anyone else to turn to."

It all began to click in Rua's mind. Rua smiled at his sister, his tears finally stopping, before he hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry, Ruka. I didn't know you'd think that. That's why you need to know: I lied."

Ruka jolted when she heard that. He lied? "About what?"

Rua chuckled. "I'm not dating Patty. I just needed her help."

Ruka backed away from her brother. He wasn't dating Patty? He tricked her? Before Ruka could ask why, Rua had already run out to the living room. Ruka was ready to follow but Rua came right back in, carrying a tiny box.

"You couldn't know about it, silly." He held the box out. "Happy birthday, Ruka."

Ruka stared at the box before her shaky hands took it from her brother. It was a beautifully wrapped box with pink paper and a white ribbon. She slowly unwrapped it then stared at the plain white box. Opening it, Ruka's eyes began to water again. Inside was a beautiful necklace on a golden chain with a red jewel in the middle.

"It took me a while to find it because whatever Patty liked, I knew you wouldn't."

"_This one! This one, Rua!"_

"_I don't know, Patty."_

Ruka brought a hand to her face as she cried more. "Dummy…"

"You've heard them, haven't you, Ruka?" Ruka looked up at her brother who took the opportunity to wipe at her tears. "People saying how we're twins but we need to spend more time apart. Thing is…even though we have new friends…even though Yuusei's cool, Jack's a good person, Aki-neechan helps with school, and Carly's funny…none of them are Ruka."

Ruka dropped the present before she tackled her brother into a hug that sent them both falling to the ground. Ruka cried into her brother's chest as Rua held her close.

"I love you, Ruka and don't worry. I'll always be here for you."

"…Love you, Rua."

The two stayed like that for a while before Rua remembered something. He let her go, eyes shining brightly.

"What did you get me?"

Ruka's face fell. Now, that she realized it, she forgot their birthday. "Uh…fancy restaurant and you order anything you want?"

"Really?! Awesome!" He jumped up and rushed to the front door. "I'll see you at the door!"

Ruka groaned. Her poor wallet. Ruka looked at the box on the ground. She took the necklace out of it then put it on.

"But Rua will always be worth it."

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So, yeah. I thought it was a cute story idea. Let me know what you thought. Bai-Bai!


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